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"newly installed" vs "newly manufactured"

This is AC related but not sure if it's the best place to ask but I figured it can't hurt to see if others have experienced similar situations. I'm already working with an attorney before you suggest that

I recently bought a house that was advertised both in marketing materials and on the seller's disclosure form (statement of property condition that the seller completes and signs) that the house had "new central AC".

Come to find out that while the house has newly installed AC by the seller (who is also an HVAC contractor), not all the system components are new. Specifically, the air handler/coil in the attic was manufactured in 2003. Not only that but it is an an R22 system. In my opinion, when I buy a house with a "new" central AC system I would expect the components to be newly manufactured and the system would also utilize "modern" technology aka R410a and not the legecy R22 which is being phased out. It's like you buy a new car only to discover that the dealer swapped out the electronic fuel injection for a carbuerator...

The contractor is saying that what he did was to buy a new dry R22 condensor and then pair it with a 9 year old air handler/coil that was sitting unopened in its packaging in their warehouse for the past 9 years. So while the manufacture date of the coil was 9 years ago, it is technically "newly installed" and therefore it's "new central ac" and they have done nothing wrong.

I would not have known there was an issue except the "new" AC system stopped working the week I moved in Turns out there was a big leak in the coil and the r22 kept leaking out. I had another contractor replace the condenser and coil with a new r410a system and am seeking damages from the seller due to their shady practices. In my state there is a strong consumer protection law that protects consumers from deceptive or fradualant business practices.

So couple of questions

1) Have you run into this "newly installed" vs "newly manufactured" situation?

2) Have you heard of an AC contractor that buys equipment which then sits in the warehouse for 9 years? The contractor is stating that they bought a lot of 10 air handlers and stored them for "future use". This seems like BS to me. It would be a bad use of your money to buy equipment and store it for so long. You would also end up with equipment that was 9 years old and just from an efficiency perspective would be out of date. Ignoring that I'd wonder whether an air handler/coil is designed to sit for 9 years and whether rubber seals, motor lubrication, etc would be compromised by sitting for so long.

Anyway, while I wait for an update from my attorney I figured I'd ask if you guys have seen this sort of thing before and what your reaction is